BAM Construction has been selected to deliver a new £30 million engineering facility for the University of Central Lancashire (UClan).

The contractor will build an Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC) in Preston city centre and construction is to begin in January 2017.

The facility is the first stage of the University's £200 million Campus Masterplan and will form an integrated hub for teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

A total of £10.5m has been secured for the project via the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership's (LEP) Lancashire 'Growth Deal' with Government, while a further £5m cash boost will be provided from Higher Education Funding Council for England to equip the centre with advanced technology and specialist equipment.

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BAM's Pre-construction Director, Adrian Blackie, said: "We are delighted to have been appointed as UCLan's preferred contractor to deliver such an exciting project for the University and for Preston."

Michael Ahern, Chief Operating Officer at UCLan, added: "The selection of BAM Construction is excellent news and takes us even closer to realising our vision for the EIC.

"BAM has extensive experience in the education sector and recent key projects include the University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute, University College London Academy, and University of Arts London's St Martin's Campus. It's great to be working with another North West company and BAM is committed to creating opportunities for work experience so the partnership will help the local economy even before the EIC is complete."

(LM/CD)